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1708 headlines found — Page 15 of 143

The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

Reform councillors told to describe donations inquiry as establishment stitch-up

‘Daily routine of hit jobs and smears will not deter us from winning next general election,’ party briefing notes say Reform UK has instructed its councillors to describe a police investigation into donations from the mother of George Cottrell as an establishment stitch-up, as polling showed the party’s popularity plummeting. Internal briefing documents circulated to the party’s councillors included instructions to respond to questions about a Metropolitan police investigation into party donatio

PoliticsReformCrime
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

Was Keir Starmer’s leaving party the boozy birth of a new Labour force?

A £10,000 bar tab was drunk, there was a ‘lot of anger’, and now ex-ministers are thinking how to cooperate in future Keir Starmer’s leaving party had been planned for some time. But in years to come it might be seen as the birth of a new Labour movement. Dozens of ministers, aides and Starmer himself headed to the Grafton pub in Kentish Town on Monday night to drown their sorrows, hours after the former prime minister left Downing Street for the last time. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

‘It’s generations of decline’: can Andy Burnham really end rough sleeping?

Outreach workers on the frontline of England’s homelessness crisis react to PM’s flagship policy pledge UK politics live – latest updates It is close to midnight, as two outreach workers from Spear, a homelessness charity in south London, shine their torches around bushes on the edge of a Twickenham park. Suddenly they alight on an array of sleeping bags, airbeds, toilet rolls and plastic bags stuffed with belongings – a new rough sleeping encampment that has popped up in the last two days. C

Politics
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

Burnham is acting like he’s mayor of everywhere – that’s not devolving power to local communities | Simon Jenkins

The new PM’s localism agenda doesn’t stop the UK being one of the most centralised counties in Europe. Can you imagine Meloni in charge of social care or Macron discussing buses? Was this a joke? Andy Burnham claimed on coming to office to be a localist. Not for the new prime minister the hotspots of the capital, of posh Downing Street and Whitehall. His were the squares of Manchester and the pavements of Wigan. The centre was the enemy of local democracy. Yet his first week in office has been c

Politics
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

The demographic makeup of Andy Burnham’s first cabinet – in charts

Women have half the seats at the top table for the first time, but Oxbridge maintains its grip Andy Burnham has appointed the first cabinet of his premiership. Much has been made of how key allies of his predecessor, Keir Starmer, have been demoted or sacked, but what is the demographic makeup of the new team of senior ministers, and how does it differ from other governments? Continue reading...

Politics
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham to spend first working day at new No 10 North in Manchester – UK politics live

PM will chair the inaugural meeting of the national economic council that will aim to shift economic decision-making away ‌from London The housing secretary, Angela Rayner, has said the new Andy Burnham administration is on “borrowed time” to turn the country around. Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Rayner said the flurry of announcements made by the new prime minister – cap on bus fares, VAT cut on electricity bills and support for pubs and clubs – showed he understood the frustratio

PoliticsEconomyHousing
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

‘A small snippet’: what pubs make of Burnham’s £100m rates giveaway

Landlords say high costs of running hospitality business outweigh potential savings of business rates discount One of Andy Burnham’s first policy measures as prime minister is a 20% reduction in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues. The policy, announced on Thursday, is part of a broader agenda to support the high street and will cost £100m. Continue reading...

PoliticsHousingHealthcare
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

Urgent need for more security after physical attacks and abuse, say MPs’ staff

Exclusive: Westminster survey finds one in two staffers experiencing clinical levels of psychological distress Staff employed by MPs are calling for urgently tightened security after reports of some being physically attacked and hundreds receiving threatening calls and messages. A survey of more than 500 MPs’ staff members found that 78% had received threatening communication and nearly one in three fear for their own safety or that of colleagues. Continue reading...

Politics
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

My generation shouldn’t be scared of a care tax – we’re paying one already | Gaby Hinsliff

If Andy Burnham is minded to grasp the nettle, he will need to sell it to people like me. The right will call it a ‘death tax’ – why not a levy for ageing well? One of the last things Andy Burnham did before entering Downing Street was to go and see his father. Now living in a nursing home, Roy Burnham has Alzheimer’s and isn’t really aware of his son’s new job. But perhaps the prime minister wanted, in part, to try to explain why he might not be visiting so often in future. Gaby Hinsliff is a G

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

It’s not just a No 10 in the north, it’s an engine for growth throughout the whole UK | Andy Burnham

Power has been too centralised in Britain and tackling that is key to progress and prosperity. This initiative is ambitious: we’re remaking the state Andy Burnham is prime minister of the United Kingdom On Monday, while the cameras were fixed on that famous black door in Downing Street, something important was happening 165 miles away. A small team of officials and advisers were walking into an office building in Manchester to set about the remaking of the British state. This was the beginning

Politics
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

Take Centrica’s gas storage warning seriously – Britain still needs secure supplies | Nils Pratley

One task awaiting new energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is devising a plan to avoid a crisis by the end of the decade Welcome to the energy secretary job, Miatta Fahnbulleh. You have a politically tricky decision to make on whether to approve production at the Jackdaw gasfield and the Rosebank oilfield. But here’s another one that can’t wait much longer: what’s the broader plan to ensure Britain avoids a gas supply crisis in 2030? By way of reminder, one of the more alarming reports published b

PoliticsDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

Lobbying firm pressed for details about payments to journalists for favourable stories

MPs and others condemn behaviour of CT Group, which offered cash for positive coverage of clients A political lobbying firm secretly paying journalists for articles favourable to its clients is facing calls to reveal full details of the payments, after the practice was denounced as a dangerous “attack on democracy”. MPs, senior lobbyists and transparency campaigners all condemned the behaviour of CT Group, the firm co-founded by the campaign strategist Lynton Crosby, an election guru previously

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